W W W .JU STO U T.CO M
MAY 20, 2011
F
Billboard charting neo-soul and dance club
musician Kavlan Marin will also be performing
on Saturday, as will Seattle’s folk-funk-pop
rocker Camille Bloom, who has drawn com
parisons to Ani DiFranco.
Sunday brings two dance hall divas— Debo
rah Cox, best known for her 14-week number
one single, “Nobody’s Supposed to Be Here”
(1998), and Kristine YV., a former Miss Wash
ington (1981) and 15-time Billboard Dance
Club Chart topper. Also featured on day two is
southern soul singer Levi Kreis, winner of a
Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a M u
sical for his role in Million Dollar Quartet.
Also on Sunday, Bride NW will honor the
recipients of its annual Spirit ot Pride, Pride in
Action and Youth Pride awards. Two of the
three awards recognize, it indirectly, the role ot
Q_Center in the community.
The 2011 Spirit of Pride Award, which rec
ognizes leadership in and commitment to the
LGBTQ_community, was given to former Q_
Center board member Bob Speltz.
“As one of the original founders of the Q_
C enter,... Bob has been instrumental in bring
ing Portland’s LGBTQcom m unity together in
ways that had not happened before, and giving
us a home to call our own,” said Pride NW
board president Debra Porta.
This year’s Pride in Action Award has two
recipients, Joe LeBlanc and Belinda Carroll.
Porta said both were selected because they ex
emplify a commitment to grassroots activism.
LeBlanc and Carroll both played a vital role in
h—
the creation of Q_Patrol as well as participating
in other community efforts.
“W hether organizing and giving voice to
our diverse butch community, contribut
ing their time and talents to benefit a myriad of
LGBTQ_organizations and causes, or bringing
together and organizing the
Patrol to sup
port and help keep our community safe, both
Joe and Belinda have contributed countless
hours and effort, with little in return,” Porta
said. “Joe and Belinda, as our Pride in Action
award recipients, exemplify Pride Northwest’s
strong commitment to the grassroots passion
that drives our community.”
Finally, the 2011 Youth Pride Award goes
to Merlo Station High School Gay-Straight
Alliance student leaders Samantha Tobey,
Hayden Jefferson and Sarah Seashore.
The Merlo GSA student leaders were recog
nized for their role in organizing a packed cal
endar of events and projects designed to bring
visibility to LGBTQ_students.
“Pride NW is actively committed to cele
brating and supporting the efforts of our LG-
B T Q jouth, as we recognize them as the future
and future leaders of our community," Porta
said. “The Merlo Station High School GSA
exemplifies the hope, commitment and poten
tial that define our community; the pride that
they bring to their school and to their commu
nity is changing lives and changing the future,
for the better.”
For more information, visit pridenw.org.
—Erin Rook
PHOTO COURTESY OF O CEI'
e
LGBTQ Safety Initiatives See
Success
Mayor Sam Adams at the Gay Bashing
Discussion Forum last year at Q Center
Nearly a year after the community was
shaken by reports o f three apparent anti-
LvGBTQ_assaults in the month before Pride,
Bias Crimes Detective Kevin Warren reports
the streets are safer, thanks in part to Q_
Patrol.
“I think the city is safer because o f what
happened here,” Warren said at a May 10
Community Safety Conversation at Q_Cen-
ter. “I have tremendous respect and admira
tion for what you’ve done. This is not a one-
hit wonder."
But it’s not just the Q_Patrol th at’s had an
impact on community safety. The Oregon
Departm ent o f Justice’s online hate crime
reporting tool, created in response to concerns
expressed by the LGBTQ_ community, has
had 32 hits over the last year, according to
DOJ Counsel Sean Riddell.
“One thing we took away [from last year’s
forum] was that many people in the audience
did not like reporting crimes to the authori
ties, didn’t like approaching officers in uni
form, so we put together anonymous report
ing," Riddell said.
Warren and Riddell spoke as part o f a large
safety panel including Lt. George Burke, Q_
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